Electric burglar-alarm



(No Model.)

1-1. C. ROOME.

ELECTRIC BURGLAR ALARM. 4 y No. 247,412. Patented Sept. 20,1881.

1 2f i k I gli J' UNITED STATES PATENT EFICE.

HENRY C. ROOME, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

ELECTRIC BU'RGLAR-ALARNI.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 247,412, dated September 20, 1881.

' Application filed February 28, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, HENRY C. ROOME, of' Jersey City, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Burglar-Alarms, of which the following is a specification.

The improvements relate particularly to burglar-alarms in which electric circuits extend through structures to be guarded and between them and a station or oftice where watch is kept, resistancecoils being employed at the y ot' goods, or would otherwise be objectionable.

Another object of the improvements is to provide a simple means of combining such au electric burglar-alarm with the shutters of windows, which shall not be liable to get out of order, nor when the shutters are of iron to establish ashort-circuit or escape to the ground through contact with the shutter, and from that by moisture on the exterior of the building.

I employ, in connection with a shutter arranged outside a window, a switch provided with a pin and operating in conjunction with an independent pin which is in contact with the pin of said switch, so that the shutter, when closed, may impinge against it, thereby forcing it and the pin ot said switch inward and maintaining the said switch inoperative, but so that when said shutter is opened a spring comprised in the switch may actuate the switch and effect the short-circuiting of a resistance-coil out of the circuit. It is best to arrange this switch inside the structure comprising the window and make the independent pin extend to the outside oi' the structure, where the shutter, when closed, may come in contact with it. rlhe pin of the switch and the independent pin are better than a single long pin, as they will be less apt to be detrimentally affected in their operation by warping, shrinking, or other changes ot' the window-casing. rEhe independent pin I prefer.

ably provide with a head ot' insulating material at the inner end. Such head will afford an extended bearin g between the'two pins, will prevent the independent pin from falling outside the structure comprising the window,and will insulate the independent pin from the pin of the switch, so as to prevent the forming of a short circuit or escape to the ground, in the manner hereinabove referred to.

I `also employ a lattice inside the window and a switch controlled thereby, so that when it is in place it will maintain the switch inoperative, but when removed Will allow the switch to operate and short-circuit out a resistancecoil. This removable lattice, capable of being introduced into and removed from the electric circuit in the structure comprising the window, of itselfl affords a very eiective protection to the Window. The cutting or rupturiug of the lattice when in circuit will entail the breaking ofthe circuit, and will therefore serve as a preventive to burglars cutting their way through the shutter and window and effecting an entrance into the structure comprising a window without causing an alarm to be given. For this reason it is advantageous to employ it in addition to the switch and its appurtenances which the shutter controls. The advantage ot' employing switches in connection with the shutter and lattice, instead of utilizing the shutter and lattice to close 0r break the circuit, is that the circuit may be short-circuited, so as to afford access to the window, while still maintaining a circuit through the remainder or any portion of the structure where it may be desired during the time access to the window is wanted.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a vertical section ot' a window, its casing, and a shutter protected by an electric burglaralarm according to my invention, andincluding a side View ofa switch controlled by a lattice-work which I employ; and Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the same,including a top view of a switch which is controlled by the shutter.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in both figures.

A designates a window in a building or structure to be guarded by an electric burglaralarm, and in Fig. l it is shown as it appears from the inside of the structure to be guarded, in which it is located.

In carryingout my invention as here shown IOO IOS

I employ two wires or conductors, and I have represen ted these in the drawings by lines of different thicknesses, so that they may be clearly distinguished and easily traced. I do not, however, mean by this to indicate that it is necessary that these wires or conductors should be ot` unequal size. A current ot' electricity enters the building to be guarded from a battery, S,located at a station or office along the wire or conductorB B B2. Near its end, or beyond the last window or door to be protected in the building, itis provided with a resistance-coil, C. The other wire or conductor, D, is atone end connected, just beyond the resistance-coil C, with the wire B B' B2, and at the other end it runs to the ground. rlhe two wires are shown as extending in close proximity to each otheraround the casingA' ot the window A; but they have insulating coverings to prevent them from making electrical contact.

With this preliminary general description of these wires or conductors, I wiil proceed to describe them in detail. Both wires pass down the right-hand side ot' the window-easing A and along the bottom. The section B ot' the wire B B B2 is connected at the bottom with a metal plate, G. Through this plate G passes a pin, e, which is impelled upward through it by means of a spring,f, so that it will make good electrical contact with a metal plate, c, arrangedjust above it on the bottom of a lattice, F, when thelatteris in place, as shown in Fig. 1. Ou the lower side otl the plate G is a projection, g, to which is affixed a block of wood or otherinsulating material, h, and from this block of insulating material y extends a metal spring, H, which, when not otherwise actuated, bears away from the under side of the said plate, out of contact therewith. A shoulder, fi, on the pin e bears against the spring H when the latter is impelled upward by the spring f, and causes the spring H to make electrical contact with the plate G. The wire Dis connected to the spring H, and passes thence to and extends up along the left-hand side of the windowcasing to and over the top.

A section, B, of the wire B B B2 passes from the plate c to the right along the frame ofthe lattice F, then up the frame to the top, then to the left along the top to the nearest rail, then downwardly along this rail to the bottom of the frame. After arriving at the bottom of the frame it turns to the left as far as the nearest rail, then it extends upward along the rail to the top ot' the frame, then it extends to the left along the top frame as far as the next rail, then downward along this rail to the bottom of the frame; then it extends to the left along the frame to the next rail, and then along this rail to the top of the frame again. It extends to the left along they top of the frame again, then down along the side of the frame, then to the right along the bottom, where it is connected with a metal plate, d, on the under side of the frame.

E designates a metal plate arranged on the window-casing below the metal plate d. This plate E is furnished with a movable pin, a, which is forced upward through the bottom of the window-casing and the said plate E by means of a spring, b, so that it will make good electrical contact with the met-al plate dot' the lattice F. A section, B2, of the wire B Bl B2 starts from the plate E again and extends along the bottom ot' the window-casing to the left, and up the left-hand side and along the top of said casing. When the lattice F is in place the pin e is forced down and the spring H moves out of contact with the plate G, and then the electric circuit is continued from the section Bl to thenext section, B2, ot the wire Y B B' B2; but when the lattice F is removed the spring f impels the pin e upward, and the shoulderi ot' this pin forces the spring Hin contact with the plate G, thereby making a connection ot the wire D with the section B of the wire B B/ B2. The spring H, plate G, pin e, with its shoulder i., and the springfthus form a switch, whereby, when the lattice is removed, the resistance-coil is short-crcuited out ot' the electric circuit around the window. When this occurs an alarm is given at the station or ofce where watch is kept.

The lattice may be secured in place by any suitable means. In the present instance it is retained in place by the pressure exerted on it by the pins a and e forcing it up against the window-casing. moval ot1 the lattice will give an alarm at the station or office. I desire it to be understood that'the cutting of the lattice, and consequent severing of the section B ofthe wire B B' B2, will also occasion an alarm at the station or office.

At the top ot' the window-casing the section B2 of the wire B B B2 is connected to a metal plate, I, arranged, as here shown, in a recess in a block ot' wood, J, (see particularly Fig. 2,) affixed to the under side ot' the top of the window-casing. Leaving this metal plate, said wire passes away from the window to thenext article or place to be protected in the building.

The wire D is connected to a metal spring, K, which is aflixed t0 a block of wood or other insulating material, j, supported by a projection, 7c, extending from said plate. This spring has a tenden'iy to bear away from the plate I, so as not to i" ake electrical contact therewith. The wire D, :Jffer leaving this spring K, passes to the next article or place to be protected in the building. A pin, Z, is arranged on the plate I, so as to project outwardly toward and slightly into a recess, o, in the top of the window-casing. A spring, n, impels this -pu outwardly when it is not otherwise actuated, and when it moves outward a shoulder, q, with which this pin is provided, bears against the I have explained how the re TOO IOS

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springKand forces itin contact with the plate I.

which tits loosely in the recess o. This pin extends out to a swinging shutter, M, arranged outside the window A, and when said shutter is closed said pin is forced inward and pushes back the pin l against the resistance of the spring n, thus allowing the spring K to move out of contact with the plate I. Then the electric current passes to and from the plate I along the section B2 ot the wire B B. B2. If the shutter M is opened, the spring it pushes the pin l outward, thereby forcing the spring K into contact with the plate I, and at the same time pushing out the pin L. Thus the section'B2 ot' the wire B B B2 is connected to the wire D and the resistance-coil is shortcircuited out of the electric circuit.

The use of the two pins L l is far more advantageous than a continuous pin, for the reason that the wood-work of the window-casing may warp or shrink without causing any binding of either pin in its bearings, as it would almost inevitably do with a single long pin. For instance, the warping or shrinking of the woodwork supporting either of these two pins may dispose that pin at an angle to the other, or moveit to one side, without causing the pin so moved to bind in its bearings, or carrying it out of contact with the other. With two pins thus combined the switch composed of the plate I, spring K, and their appurtenances may be arranged inside the building, so as to be protected from the weather. rIhe head1? of the pin L serves to prevent the pin from falling outside of the building, and where the shutters are of iron, as they usually are for windows to be protected, it insulates this pin from the pin 1, so that no communication with the ground will be made through the pin L. Itis t'ar better to insulate the pins L from each other than to insulate the pin L from the shutter, for then rain entering the window-casing and coming in contact with the pin L cannot establish communication to moisture on the exterior of the building and thence to the ground, as it might if the pin L were merely insulated from the shutter by a bead on its outer end. The head of this pin L also affords a larger surface for contact between the pins in caseof the derangement of either bythe warping or shrinking of the window-casing.

As either the opening of the shutter M or the removal of the lattice F will effect the shortcircuiting out of the resistance-coil from the circuit and cause an alarm to be given at the station or oice where watch is kept, the window A is protected electrically on both sides.

It is very advantageous to use both the shutter-protection and the lattice, for it a burglar should attempt to ett'ect an entrance to the buildin g by cutting his way through the shutter without disturbing the position of the shutter, so that it would cause an alarm to be given, then he would be met by the lattice, which he could not remove or cut without causing an alarm to be given.

The lattice may be removed, when desirable,

during the time when it is not needed for protection. It might be employed so that its removal would merely break` an electric circuit, and thereby cause an alarm t0 be given.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an electric burglar-alarm, the combination, with a shutter, of an electric circuit, a

switch provided with a pin, whereby it is controlled, and another pin in contact with the former and extending to the shutter, substantially as specified.

2. In an electric burglar alarm, the combination, with a shutter, ot' an electric circuit, a resistance-coil in said circuit, a switch for shortcircuiting out said resistance-coil, a pin controlling the operation of the switch, and auother pin in contact with the former and eX- tending to the shutter, substantially as specitied.

3. In an electric burglar-alarm, the combination, with a shutter and window, of an electric circuit, a switch arranged inside the window, a pin controlling said switch, and an independent pin in contact with the former and extending through the window-casing to the shutter, substantially as specified.

et., In an electric burglar-alarm, the combination, with a shutter, ot' an electric circuit, a switch, a pin controlling the operation of the switch, another pin having a head of insulating material in contact with the former, substantially `as specified.

5. In au electric burglar-alarm, the combination, with a window, of an electric circuit provided with a resistance-coil, a shutter arranged outside the window, a switch controlled by the shutter, for short-circuiting out the resistance-coil, a lattice arranged inside the window, and a switch controlled by the lattice, so that on the removal of the lattice it will shortcircuit out the resistance-coil, substantially as specified.

6. In an electric burglar-alarm, the combination, with a window, ot' an electric circuit and a removable lattice in the electric circuit, substantially as specified.

7. In au electric burglar-alarm, the combination, with a window, of an electric circuit, a resistance-coil in the circuit, a switch for shortcircuitin g out the resistance-coil, and a lattice which controls the operation ot' the switch, so that the resistance-coil will be short-circuited out when the lattice is removed, substantially as specitied.

8. In an electric burglar-alarm, the combination, with a window, of an electric circuit, a resistance-coil in the circuit, a lattice-work which, when in place inside the window, is in circuitalso, and a switch for short-circuitin gout the resistance-coil when the lattice is removed, substantially as specified.

H. C. ROOME.

Witnesses:

H. F. NEWBURY, EnwiN H. BROWN.

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